News from St. Petersburg College

SPC Students Talk Trash

Trash collection has evolved from a one man cart in Roman times to 243 million tons of waste collected every year. The enormity of waste disposal is at the center of the newest of three documentaries produced by St. Petersburg College media arts students in partnership with public media outlet WEDU. The 30-minute documentary “Away: A Story of Trash” will premiere on WEDU Thursday, Aug. 25 at 10 p.m.

“Away: A Story of Trash” will educate and entertain viewers about the history of waste management – the current practices, problems and what the average American’s perception of “throwing away” garbage really means. The program will identify new technologies and processes that have been created to reduce the amount of solid waste – and the many recycling and disposal programs of Pinellas County in particular. The viewer will ultimately walk away with an understanding of what they can do to help – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – the three R’s of waste management.

“It’s really amazing to see how much work actually goes into it,” said Katie Bishop, Executive Producer of Away: A Story of Trash. “I hope the viewers will be educated enough to be influenced to take action and reduce the amount of waste we create, so we can preserve the earth for future generations.”

“Local programs that both educate viewers and address topics important to the community are part of the mission of our station,” said Jack Conely, Vice President of Content for WEDU. “Additionally, our ongoing collaboration with St. Petersburg College has not only produced relevant content, but has given the students real-world experience and contributes significantly to the resumes of budding film producers.”

Previous documentaries produced by SPC students in conjunction with WEDU included the 30-minute “Go Green Tampa Bay” in 2008. The documentary was designed to inspire viewers to come up with ideas to counteract economic and environmental woes through the use of alternative resources.

The other documentary, produced in 2010, was entitled “Tony Jannus: American Aviator.” The 30-minute program educated viewers about American aviation history, advances in technology and industry pioneers, showing how the trillion dollar commercial aviation industry started from the purchase of one ticket: a flight on the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line, piloted by Tony Jannus.

WEDU is west central Florida’s leading PBS station and public media company reaching 16 counties through multiple media platforms including on-air programming and online experiences that broaden horizons, transport and transform and open gateways to new ideas and new worlds. For more information, program schedules or to support WEDU visit WEDU.org.